It's Not Delivery, It's Digiorno

Isn't she Lovely?

Introducing...Delaney Stellah Hughes

November 23, 2010

12:32 a.m.

8 pounds, 3 ounces

21.5 inches long

Fresh from the Oven

Her First Kiss

Love at First Sight

and Second, and Third, and...


She may not share Larry's birthday, but apparently they share the same hobby!

THE STORY: I arrived at the hospital for induction at 4pm on Sunday, November 21st. I was given medication to dilate my cervix until 6am. I was 3cm. She was in the correct position.

At 6am I was given pitocin to start contractions. At 9am she kept losing the monitor, so they called in for another sonogram to check her position. She was breech. The doctor suggested a C-section. Our only other course would be manual aversion. I opted for the latter. The pitocin was stopped.

At noon, three doctors came in to perform the aversion, but they decided to do another sonogram so they knew where to place their hands. She was back in the correct position. Immediately, they broke my water to keep her in position and restarted the pitocin. Still 3cm.

At 7pm, I was still at 3cm despite some seriously painful and continuous contractions from 1pm on.

At 8pm, I gave in and asked for the epidural, okay cried for it.

At 11:50pm, I threw up and asked to be rechecked because I felt "ready."

At 12:05am, the resident checked and said I was 10cm. My doctor walked in minutes later and they began preparing for delivery.

I pushed once and was told to stop. The doctor told me to reach forward and he placed my hands under her arms and had me pull her the rest of the way out. That was scary, but an experience I will never forget. It was 12:32am.

THE BIRTHDAY: I'm not going to lie, I really wanted her to be born on Larry's birthday if only for the reason that on this Earth he would never get the chance to meet her or she him, I would settle for that connection. The closer we got to midnight, the more disappointed I became. After thinking about it, and later getting to know this little spit-fire, I am happy with the end result. I don't think Larry would want to share his day any more than she would wish to share her's.

THE NAME GAME: About 7 years ago, Shannon mentioned the name of a little girl she taught in her Sunday school class. I asked her to repeat the name she had said, and I loved it at first sound. In fact, had Charlie been a girl, he would have been my Delaney. I think it is a beautifully feminine name. I love that it has the Dee sound in it like 3 very awesome women in my life that I look up to and admire: Shannon Dee, Grandma Dee and Grandma Dee in Texas.

The middle name didn't come for a week. The hospital called twice to see if I had come up with one so they could finally send in the birth certificate document. If she had been born on Larry's birthday, it would have been Lauren in honor of him. We also liked Ruby for Grandma Rube and Mabel for Charlie's Grandma. However, they just didn't fit. I really liked the name Lolah, but it didn't fit either.

Months earlier, Madison read Stella off an internet name page. I told her I love that. It's like stellar. It's old-fashioned like I like too. I just couldn't get the "h" out of my head from Lolah. I didn't like Lola, I liked Lolah. Then while talking to Grandma Dee in Texas one day on the phone about a month before I had Delaney she told me how God changed Sara in the Bible to Sarah and the "-ah" on the end meant "with great joy."

It fit. It fit her face. It fit her personality. It fit the emotion I felt from the moment I held her in my arms.

If I had my way, which I'm still shocked that I don't, her first name would be Stellah, but the boys were really attached to calling her Delaney. When I posed the question to her, I swear that she smiled hugely for Stellah Delaney. I figure some people in our family go by their middle names like Grandpa Bill and Grandma Dee, so if I'm lucky maybe I will get my way in the end. I sneak and call her Stellah all the time!